Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Spotlight on: Judy Gilman-Hines

One of the admirable things about botanical artist Judy
Gilman-Hines is her organization.

Paintings are always the
same size and framed alike.

Each one is intensely
colorful.

Her classroom set-up
features a live plant, a lamp, top-notch paints, brushes, HP watercolor
paper, and Judy, comfortably seated and excited about her drawing.

She is always
enthusiastic!

Judy has a website www.gilmanarts.com
where you can see at least 48 of her paintings. She participates in many shows with
a booth at Strange’s Orchid Show (see photo below), a gallery space at Crossroads Art Center, and
has work in the permanent collections of Longwood University, Farmville; St.
Catherine’s School, Richmond; and Queens University, Charlotte, NC.

Her first botanical class was at Wintergreen in 1992 with
James Linton Sain.

Judy credits her love of plants and painting to her mother,
Louise Blanks Cochrane, who still paints at age 96. Mrs. Cochrane’s Victory
Garden turned rose garden led Judy into gardening and painting as well. Judy, surrounded
by beautiful plants all her life, now paints “to bring (the) garden into the
house year round.”

No doubt Judy Gilman-Hines, like her mother, will be
painting roses and rhododendrons, peonies and passionflowers, lilies, lady’s
slippers, and more for many years to come...